234 AXNUAL REPOKT. 



in shape, it produces a profusion of rich, beautiful green leaves, in early spring 

 that, after furnishing shade all summer, change in autumn to all the rich and 

 gorgeous shades of yellow, brown and red, giving to the autumn landscape brighter, 

 richer and a more dazzling show of color than an}' half dozen other trees combined. 

 Any park, garden or ground that has not the hard maple is incomplete, like a 

 church without a steeple, a flower garden without a rose, or home without a wife. 

 The objection usually urged against this best of all trees is that it is shy of trans- 

 planting, grows slow, is liable to die out. Admitting this to be true, still the tree 

 is worth extra care in transplanting, extra preparation of the ground and a little 

 nursing and petting afterwards, for if you have and admire the best and most beauti- 

 ful in all that goes to make up a perfect landscape, the hard maple will liberally 

 reward you for the care and labor necessary to grow it in perfection. To grow good 

 hard maples the soil mu.st be moderately rich, deep, cool and moist; it will not 

 thrive in dry, hot sand; it must be transplanted either late in autumn or very early 

 spring. If the soil is sandy remove three or four cubic yards and replace with clay 

 loam. A description of each tree, their habits and peculiarities would make this 

 paper too long. 



The size of the grounds, the shape and arrangemeni of the buildings must be 

 studied to determine what is best to plant. As a general rule at least two-thirds of 

 the ground should be unbroken lawn, free from trees or shrubs of any kind. The 

 lowest growing trees should be planted in front and nearest the house ; most peo- 

 pie make the mistake of planting too many large growing trees. Another thing to 

 be studied is the view beyond your own grounds; study how far you can use the 

 good things of your neighbor and make them add to the attractiveness of j'our own 

 grounds. For instance your next neighbor has a few beautiful trees, but some un- 

 sightlj' out-buildings, arrange your own trees so as to screen the out- buildings and 

 give you the beueflt of the trees. Let the lawn space be widest towards the house 

 or street ; do not use shrubbery promiscuously over the grounds, but group them 

 together ; do not have many flower beds and those you do have arrange with regard 

 to the shrubs and trees adjoining; avoid the use of statues, vases or rustic orna- 

 ments, except in shadowy places ; there are places where a rustic ornament, a pile 

 of rock- work, or something of the kind may be used effectively, but such places 

 are not common. A fountain on a quai'ter acre lot, or a dray load of rocks on a 

 lawn of a few dozen square yards is scarcely in good taste. 



Ornamental hedges can often be used to advantage. The finest hedges in the 

 State are made with the Norway Spruce. It is a hardy, thrifty, compact grower, 

 with an abundance of fine, rich dark-green foliage, bears shearing well and can be 

 trained in any desired shape. The Arbor VitiB and the red cedar are both used for 

 hedges with good results. For a deciduous ornamental hedge the common purple 

 lilac is very nice, making a compact hedge ; the foliage is abundant and rich in 

 color and it flowers in profusion. The common wild plum, planted thickly and 

 kept sheared in shape, makes a fine hedge, that will show a prettj^ bank of snowy 

 blossoms in May. Climbing vines are often used with good effect ; the hardiest 

 and most successful climbing plant is the Virginia Creeper, (A. Quincifolia ;) this 

 is a very free climber with abundant foliage, that colors finely in autumn ; it is very 

 easily increased by layers and would be used much more than it is if people gener- 

 ally understood how easy it is to propagate it, and the little care re<iuired to grow 



